Merle Haggard Hospitalized, Cancels Upcoming Concerts

Merle Haggard has postponed a month’s worth of concerts, he has returned to a California hospital to treat the double pneumonia that’s been holding him back for months.

The singer has canceled 10 shows scheduled for March — doctors say they want him off the road for at least another month. This comes after he called off shows in February, but returned to the stage for a Feb. 6 show in Las Vegas. He also postponed or canceled shows scheduled for December and January.

The Associated Press was first to report on the 78-year-old country legend’s return to a hospital. In February Haggard told Rolling Stone he was near death as doctors treated a bout of double pneumonia “the size of a grapefruit.” He was in pain through the fall, but a Dec. 2 show in California proved too much to handle.

"It was like suffocating, like having a pillow in your face," he said. "It's a terrible thing; people die from it all the time."

It’s not clear when he’ll be back on tour or how he’ll handle rescheduling the canceled dates, which included a two-night stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. A full list of Haggard's concerts can be found at his official website. In April he's scheduled to resume touring with Willie Nelson.

Haggard is a Country Music Hall of Famer with a long line of hits, including chart-toppers in the '60s, '70s and '80s. "Mama Tried," "Okie From Muskogee" and "Big City" are three of his most well-known songs. His last album was the Django and Jimmie album, a collaboration with Nelson.